COMPLEX PERSONALITY Deputy Ialomiţianu questions minister ... Ialomiţianu

Those who say that none of the local politicians are looking out for the rest of us are wrong. On the contrary, we have politicians who are so concerned with the future of the country, that they go to unmatched lengths: they request answers in writing to their own official questions, using the official channels of the Parliament as a means of communication.

One such example is politician Gheorghe Ialomiţianu, PDL deputy and minister of Public Finance: deputy Gheorghe Ialomiţianu addressed minister of Public Finance Gheorghe Ialomiţianu a question in writing, urging him to answer whether the 25% wage cut will remain in effect next year.

No, it is not a case of similar names, the deputy and the minister really are one and the same.

The question is phrased as follows "Keeping 25% in 2011" (ed. note: we can assume that he is referring to whether the 25% wage cut for public sector workers will need to remain in place next year, since his question isn"t exactly one), it is sent by "Gheorghe Ialomiţianu - PDL deputy" and is addressed to "The Ministry of Public Finance - to the attention of Mr. Gheorghe Ialomiţianu, minister" and can be viewed on the web page of the Chamber of Deputies, with the registration number 3957A.

Of course, at first sight it could seem that it was a misunderstanding and that the question must have been sent to the Ministry before the deputy became the Minister of Public Finance. Except the question was sent on September 16th, 2010, 13 days after the deputy took the oath for his position as minister. Furthermore, it was sent to the ministry on September 22nd, and probably ended up on the desk of the minister or in his secretary"s office.

We don"t know yet whether the minister has answered his own question. One thing is certain: reading the text of the enquiry, makes us even more confused, because, even though it includes the same addressee, the same issue of the wage cuts, but a different sender - deputy Adrian Miroslav Merka.

Today, it is 14 days since the interpellation has reached the ministry, and 20 days that it has been sitting on the webpage of the Chamber of Deputies. Perhaps the whole thing is just a misunderstanding, but judging by the latest media interventions of the minister, we would not be surprised if it were authentic.

Since neither of the two institutions has reacted in any way, we are wondering how would the minister answer in writing his own inquiry generically called " Keeping 25% in 2011".

"We will let you know when we reach a decision!" seems like the most likely answer.